


Resonance

by Somnis



Series: Soulmates AU [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, In Search of the Lost Tobio, Investigations, Kidnapping, M/M, Mentions of Schweiden Adlers, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somnis/pseuds/Somnis
Summary: "I'm giving up on soulmates. That's not for me, I don't want to hear about it anymore."At least this was what Oikawa Tooru said to himself, high on annihilators to forget he actually had one... Until the cops knocked at his door and asked for his help in finding Kageyama Tobio.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio/Nicolas Romero, Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, Oikage is endgame in the series, past Oikawa Tooru/Iwaizumi Hajime
Series: Soulmates AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758520
Comments: 47
Kudos: 200





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone ! I've thought about translating this for a while, so here we are ! Please don't look too close, there might still be English mstakes, it's not my mother tongue and not even the forst foreign langage I've learnt. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy ! I'll give more info about the soulmates system next chapter.

Oikawa woke up with a start.

He straightened up suddenly, panicked, sweaty, still half in his nightmare, only to be greeted by the decor of his darkened room. A glance at his alarm clock told him it was two twenty-eight in the morning. He brought a hand to his chest, trying to regulate his breathing, but his heart continued to beat at a frantic pace.

“What the hell is he doing,” he mumbled through his teeth.

He got out of bed, hurriedly shaking off the blankets to stagger to his bathroom. He leaned against the sink for a moment, waiting for the dizziness to pass, then shook his head to get back on his feet; he abruptly opened a drawer to take out a box of medicine and dropped two pills into his open palm. He looked at the mirror in front of him, which gave him an unflattering reflection -livid cheeks and sweaty hair- then opted for a third. He spilled the pills in his throat, filled a goblet of water to make them pass, and walked back to his bed.

“Are you okay?” a sleepy voice mumbled.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep.”

He lay back down, regaining the welcome warmth of the blankets. The pills had to take effect soon enough, and he could fall asleep again; even though it was always unpleasant to have to go through it in the middle of the night, it was always better than during sport or on an outing.

A slender hand with long fingernails rested on his arm, and he saw a sleepy gaze leaning over him:

“Are you in pain somewhere?”

“No.”

“It is... your soulmate, then?”

Oikawa wished his one-night stand was a little less curious. He made a mental note to write on his profile that he was looking for hookups, not confessors.

“Maybe.”

He didn't sound quite convinced himself, but that was enough for the girl. He heard the soft sound her body made when she sank back onto the mattress; the pills were starting to take effect, but not yet enough for his liking, and he felt the headaches come back when she said without preamble:

“You're lucky. My soulmate… She rejected me. Definitely. I no longer feel anything coming from her.”

“You call that luck?” Tooru retorted without looking at her. “Without the annihilators, it would be unlivable.”

A painful onomatopoeia took the place of an answer, which left him completely unmoved, and he suppressed a sigh when she resumed speaking:

“My soulmate. I met her when I was fifteen, but she was already nineteen. We took the same bus every morning. I felt it the day someone stepped on her foot -it hurt for her, we screamed at the same time, we looked at each other, and… and nothing more. When I went to talk to her, she told me that she already had a boyfriend, and that she didn't believe in soul mates. Now they are married. And that's all. I continued to feel his emotions for a while, then it withered to nothing. It's really pathetic, as a story.”

“Yeah.”

Oikawa really wanted to sleep. It was not yet three o'clock, he could still recover a little before going for his jogging; at least if this bitch wanted to stop talking, which was obviously not in her plans:

“What about you? Are they the one who rejected you, too?”

“No. It's me.”

“Why?”

Exasperated, Tooru deigned turning around to give her an icy look:

“Listen, it's a little late for the post-fuck talk. You’re leaving when I get up, so you better enjoy my bed a little longer.”

That was enough to silence her, and Oikawa closed his eyes in hope to ease the pain in his skull. He tried to remember his nightmare, but was too awake now to remember it clearly, only feeling a few feelings of fear and confusion. For a moment he hesitated to grab his phone, write a message, just like that, just in case… Then he changed his mind. Soulmates were no longer his concern.

He didn't really fall asleep again and dozed, half knocked out by the pills, until his alarm clock rang. He stood up without looking back, pulled on a pair of jogging pants and a sports T-shirt, then walked over to his kitchen to nibble on something before going for a run; the girl made her appearance as he was putting his mug in the dishwasher.

“I'm going,” she said, retrieving her purse.

“Bye,” Oikawa said without looking at her.

He heard her heels click down his hallway and the door shut, and didn't wait long before following her to go on his usual jogging path. The cool air in his hair and on his face made him feel good, the continuity of the effort created a calming rhythm. He kept his strides steady, back straight, chin raised, his breath drawing small clouds of vapor as he reached halfway to his goal.

The second half of the jog saw his condition deteriorate, however -but Tooru knew he was not the problem. Still he forced himself to run to his residence, and slowly walked up the stairs, once again beset with headaches and soreness. He couldn't disentangle clear feelings inside, just felt something heavy in his chest, unpleasant and impossible to ignore; he took another dose of annihilators before slipping into the shower stall.

He dressed for the day -black jeans, silky dark gray shirt- and was drying his hair when there was a knock on his door. He left the towel around his neck, a little disappointed that he hadn't had time to style his locks before opening the door, and noticed in passing that the girl from the night had left him her number - hastily written on a piece of paper placed on his hallway furniture. He didn't have time to tear it apart when someone knocked on his door again, more firmly this time.

“Yeah, I'm here,” he replied grudgingly.

He opened it, and his expression changed drastically when he saw police uniforms. Two officers stood outside his door, looking serious. The feeling of unease reappeared -his own this time.

“Oikawa Tooru?” one of them asked.

“Yes, it's me,” he replied despite the sudden dryness in his throat.

“I'm glad you are here. We are going to need your assistance.”

Oikawa swallowed hard.

“My… assistance? But why?”

The policemen exchanged a grim look, and Tooru could only think to what had happened that night, the sudden manifestations from the bond. It wasn't for him that they were there. One of the policemen handed him a photo, and he grabbed it with trembling fingers, immediately recognizing the boy in the snapshot.

“Is he your soulmate?”

“Yes,” he replied with a tight throat.

The agent inhaled, then nodded to his colleague and returned his gaze to Oikawa, riveting his eyes to his:

“He is missing, and it’s probably a kidnapping. We need you to find him before it's too late. We'll explain you everything inside, if you'll let us in -every hour counts.”

Oikawa froze in place, unable to speak, unable to act, unable to take his eyes off the glossy paper he still held in his hand, and on which appeared Kageyama Tobio's face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some things about soulmates: 
> 
> -You begin to feel your soulmate around 14/15 yo  
> -You can perceive their violent feelings and sensations  
> -You can weaken the bond by taking annihilators  
> -Soulmates are destined to meet and always be reminded of the other's existence   
> -If one of the soulmates is rejected, the bond takes around 4 years to fade and disappear  
> -If one of the soulmates dies, the other stays alone.

_Kageyama Tobio is missing._

It was a shock, and Oikawa couldn't get over it, suddenly filled with a multitude of feelings -regret, guilt, understanding, apprehension. He finally nodded to let the police know they could come in, and then noticed that they were far from being alone; behind them followed a man who looked like a doctor, and following came the last two people Oikawa expected to see in his apartment.

Ushijima Wakatoshi stood in front of him for the first time in years, disgustingly tall and thick, sporting the same serious face Oikawa had always known on him. His face was more adult, more marked too, which was not surprising given the circumstances. Next to him was someone whom Oikawa immediately identified, but whom he had never seen so closely: the Brazilian international champion, Nicolas Romero, whose exploits he had watched on the court since his high school years. Suddenly seeing him in person made him dizzy -he was one of the best players of their time. Both wore the same white tracksuit, edged in gold, adorned with their names, prestigious sponsors and the emblem of their team -the white eagle of Schweiden Adlers.

“Hello, Oikawa,” Ushijima greeted.

“Ushiwaka,” Tooru just answered.

Romero only nodded, and Oikawa thought that maybe he didn't speak Japanese fluently. He waved him back and, still upset by the news, led the police to his kitchen table, where they could all fit and where he could pretend to be a good host by offering coffee.

“With pleasure,” the doctor smiled. “Thank you, Oikawa-san.”

As the five men sat down, Tooru tried to bustle around the coffeemaker, but his senses betrayed him: his hands were shaking and the cups rattled. One of the policemen stood up and took charge of the situation, pushing him towards the chair he was leaving:

“Please sit down, I'll take care of it if you don't mind. My colleagues will explain the situation to you.”

Oikawa sat up uncertainly, unsure if what he was going through was real.

“The report of what happened so far,” the second policeman announced. “The alert was passed at six o'clock by Ushijima-san…”

“Yes,” Ushiwaka interrupted.

He was pale, and obviously wanted to speak, which would have puzzled Oikawa if there wasn’t so much tension in the room already.

"We had a two-day camp planned further south, towards Nagoya," the ace said, looking directly at Oikawa. “Kageyama couldn't come because he twisted his ankle the day before. The coaches told him to stay and rest.”

Oikawa had been aware of this fact, having felt a sharp pain in his ankle when the annihilators had ceased to work, not to mention the foul mood of Kageyama being deprived of volleyball.

“We share our apartment,” Ushijima specified. “We’re roommates. Since we are in the same team and we knew each other from the U19 team and the Miyagi championship, it was a good deal for both of us.”

 _This explains his presence here_ , Oikawa thought.

“Kageyama stayed in our apartment for the two days. We hit the road last night after the last training day, and got home early this morning, around five o'clock. When I returned, the door was open. There was breakage. Kageyama's phone was still on his bed, too, though he would never have left without it. I called the police right away.”

Oikawa felt a lump form in his throat. The policeman took over:

“There is no sign of a break-in on the front door, which means that Kageyama-san must have opened the door for the person, or the group of persons, who then assaulted and kidnapped him.”

“But…,” Oikawa finally articulated in a weak voice. “Why would someone want to kidnap Tobio…?”

He found no answer in the eyes of his interlocutors. The policeman in charge of the coffee put a steaming mug in front of him, and he slowly brought it to his lips, taking turns looking at who was present. Romero met his gaze, and Oikawa was for a moment unsettled by his dark eyes.

“That's what we all wonder,” the first officer said. “There is no reason. Maybe a burglary which has gone wrong? Maybe a revenge for some obscure motive? The traces of blood were still fresh, he is an international athlete, a ransom demand may emerge-“

“The traces of blood?” Oikawa repeated, turning pale.

“Nothing says that it’s his. The analyzes are currently underway, but before procedures and protocols, in this specific case of kidnapping… We don't have time to wait. And that's what we need you for now.”

“Wait,” Oikawa whispered.

He stared at his hands clasped around the mug, trying to take in everything he was told. Tobio has been kidnapped. He may be injured. He is surely in danger and his rescue now depended on Oikawa, a soulmate he had never had the opportunity to meet, and by the way...

“Who told you that Tobio is my soulmate?” he asked. “It was not especially public.”

A sort of uneasiness took place between them, and it was once again Ushijima who answered with his usual frankness:

“I thought Kageyama's soulmate was Romero, so I called him while waiting for the police.”

Oikawa's heart sank, and his knuckles whitened around the cup.

“I was wrong,” Ushijima continued. “But he never opened up to me about his love life, I couldn't know. Romero stayed with us…”

Oikawa turned to the Brazilian champion again. He had learned in several ways that Kageyama had ended up finding someone; and how could Oikawa blame him, since their bond, even though it was still active, had never been given a chance? That didn't prevent him from feeling a little worse. Why him in particular? Why this player, why this person? Because Tobio couldn't tell the difference between love and admiration? No matter if they played on the same team, Oikawa would never have believed that the man in front of him was Kageyama’s type, with his eight years older, his beard and his Latino type. He must have recognized his name in Ushijima's words, for he once again met Oikawa's gaze, and finally uttered a single word:

“Tobio.”

A wave of disdain overwhelmed Oikawa upon hearing Kageyama's first name used in this way, and all of Romero's glorious reputation was not enough to stop it. He had been the first to call him Tobio, _Tobio-chan_ even, but that wasn't even what really pissed him off now. It was the memory of seeing an Adlers game, and hearing that Kageyama also called him by his first name, _Nicolas_ , which was absolutely new from Tobio.

 _He would have called you Tooru too_ , an inner voice whispered to him, _if you hadn't rejected him. A little late for the regrets._

Oikawa thought he was going to stick to that word, but Romero continued in English, without taking his eyes off him:

 _“So you're his soulmate, huh_.”

“ _Didn't he tell you?”_ Oikawa replied without blinking.

His stay in Argentina had accustomed him to switching smoothly from one language to another, from Japanese to English to Spanish. Spanish wouldn't be too useful with Romero, but at least they could communicate.

_“He told me a few things about him, but no name.”_

It gave Tooru no answer. He hadn't told anyone that his soulmate was Kageyama… except one other, but he doubted the police had questioned him. Who could Tobio have told what they had both held as a secret? Ushijima had visibly dropped out as soon as they switched languages, and Romero continued, finally lighting his lantern:

“ _Wakatoshi didn't know what to do, neither did I. We thought that his best friend could know something about it and we called him. You must know him, he's so famous –his nickname is Ninja Shouyou.”_

Oikawa should have thought about it sooner. He had heard the nickname Ninja Shouyou in Brazil, when he had done a little beach volleyball with Hinata. Kageyama had thus ended up confiding to him the identity of his soulmate… Did Hinata know it, already in Rio? It was more than likely, but he hadn't told Oikawa about it. And now he had made the decision to reveal it in the hopes of rescuing his best friend.

“Hinata Shouyou,” Oikawa said, turning to the police, deliberately ignoring Romero. “Did you learn it from him?”

“That's right. He gave us your name, and all we had to do was search in our database to find your address. Hinata-san should join us in a moment, he’s driving all the way over here.”

“He plays with the Black Jackals,” Ushijima needlessly specified. “Their base is in Tokyo.”

Tooru nodded, still a little confused.

“And… What can I do to help you? I was no longer in contact with Tobio. We never had a soulmate relationship despite the bond.”

“Is the bond still alive?” the doctor asked. “Or is it completely undone?”

“He… He never came undone,” Oikawa muttered, probing the depths of his mug.

“Perfect then. I haven't introduced myself yet; my name is Hayashi, and I specialize in soulmate relationships in police investigations. In short, I’m helping the police to solve cases by working on the specific connections that exist between two people. And in the context of a kidnapping, the information we can retrieve from your side of the bond can be critical in finding your soulmate.”

“Did you feel anything in particular last night?” one of the policemen asked. “A sudden pain, discomfort, something that could be related to the events of the kidnapping?”

All of them focused on Oikawa as he closed his eyes. _If only I had sent this message. It might have changed everything._ He took a deep breath and replied:

“I woke up from a nightmare with excruciating migraines. I read that it was two twenty-eight in the morning. I got up and felt terrible -dizziness, still headaches. I took annihilators to make it pass, but it took time.”

The policeman immediately began to scribble in his notebook.

“Two twenty-eight? Are you sure?”

“Sure,” Oikawa replied.

“A devastating headache,” Hayashi said. “Presumably his attackers knocked him out, or at least inflicted a serious head injury. You see,” he smiled at Oikawa, “your bond already gives us some valuable information.”

"I was in pain again this morning," Tooru added mechanically. “Still headache and soreness.”

“It's good news. It means he’s alive,” one of the policemen said.

 _Alive_. The word echoed strangely in Oikawa's head, as if he realized for the first time that it was a matter of life and death, that Kageyama was in danger the very moment they spoke.

“I have nothing more,” Tooru confessed. “I took annihilators this morning.”

“Forget the annihilators,” Hayashi defended. “You need to be at your peak.”

As if all the responsibility had suddenly fallen on his shoulders, Oikawa stood up from his chair and raised his hands:

“I don't feel much coming from him, really. Some violent feelings and emotions, but I would be unable to be more precise or to locate him, it is impossible.”

“That's why I'm here today,” Hayahi said. “We are going to deepen the bond to facilitate your perception.”

“Deepen the bond?” Oikawa repeated. “My bond… with Tobio?”

“That's it. Make it stronger, more permeable. If you agree, of course.”

Oikawa faltered. He had denied his connection to Tobio from the start, had refused to make room for him in his life, had even refused to give him a chance.

_I don't want a soulmate. I don’t want you._

And now this specialist, Hayashi, offered to strengthen this relationship that they had never bothered to develop. To multiply his receptivity to everything that emanated from Tobio, to reestablish a true bond of soulmates -and Kageyama, despite his own couple, would also be affected by this change in their relationship.

What did this involve for Oikawa? Once they found Tobio, what to do with this suddenly stronger bond? It would make their lives impossible, they would need annihilators all the time –and things were already complicated enough with a loose bond. Tobio certainly didn't want to feel him having a good time with one-night stands whenever the opportunity presented itself; and Oikawa clearly didn't want to perceive romantic feelings knowing they were from Tobio… and knowing they weren't for him.

_I’m giving up on soulmates. It's not for me, I don't want to hear about it anymore._

He still remembered a certain couple looking at each other lovingly, bound by this so special, exclusive relationship, in their bubble of love and mutual understanding -and him, beside them, suddenly left aside, suddenly forgotten, unable to go against what fate had established, alone with his mistakes. 

But it was a matter of life and death. He took a moment to consider the part of duty, the part of guilt, the part of hope.

“Okay,” he finally breathed. “Let's do that.”


	3. Chapter 2.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First flash back ! There will be 5 chapters of them throughout the fic.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were thirteen years old when they decided that they would spend their lives together.

They were at the start of their second year of middle school, sitting side by side on the steps leading to the gymnasium. The training was over, and they had locked the door, having been allowed to stay a little later by the captain.

At this age, neither had felt their soulmates yet; but they knew it would happen soon. Around fourteen or fifteen, the first signs began; and then, unless you had an iron will, it was impossible to ignore them.

They were aware that it was not for them to decide who they were bound to. But that didn't stop them from forming a couple or dreaming.

“Maybe we can become soulmates,” Oikawa said enthused.

“What, do you think we can force fate?”

“Why not?”

They had known each other for several years now. Enough to develop the beginnings of feelings, reinforced by their age and the fact that no other person had yet been assigned to them -an illusory freedom that made them believe that anything was possible.

“Maybe if we really love each other, fate will listen to us, right?”

“Maybe,” Iwaizumi repeated thoughtfully.

His fingers were resting on Oikawa's, and if he wasn't vocally expressing his desire for things to turn out this way, the way they squeezed a little spoke for him.

They entered third year -a difficult year for Oikawa, who had to learn to deal with his frustration and jealousy towards one of his underclassman, a little genius named Kageyama Tobio. While Oikawa and Iwaizumi often quarreled over him, or rather over Oikawa's overreactions when he was around, nothing could really compromise their relationship, and they were as close as ever.

They hid it from their parents under the guise of a deep friendship, constantly reminded of the deadline that would soon arrive: they reached fifteen years old, the discovery of their respective soulmates would not delay. But they still weren't feeling them, and they were far from thinking about it in the few stolen moments when they could be together.

The arrival in high school did not change anything. The first pairs of soulmates were already formed, and yet neither of them had felt anything yet.

“Something intense is needed,” Tooru's mother said when her son reported this fact to her. “Maybe your soulmate hasn't had a chance to feel this stuff yet, that's all.”

In general, it was something physical. A girl in Iwaizumi's class had found her soulmate the day they broke their arm. Oikawa's table neighbor had discovered his when they dropped their tray in the cafeteria, suddenly feeling fear, shock and shame. They were brutal events, which could happen at any time.

But nothing happened for Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and they ended up believing that they had defeated the destiny. That, by some miracle, they had loved each other strong enough not to have a soulmate, or never to feel it, leaving them free to be together.

“We should tell our parents that we are soulmates,” Oikawa whispered to Iwaizumi one day.

They were at the start of their second year of high school, a night when Iwaizumi had the right to sleep at Oikawa's; it was late, and they were huddled together in his bed. Iwaizumi reached out, and pinched Oikawa's skin, hard enough to make him wince.

“I did not feel anything,” Hajime observed sadly.

“It's nothing. No law says you have to date your soulmate -besides, you don't seem to have one. It's not like we’re forced to do anything.”

Oikawa pressed his face to Iwaizumi's chest, and closed his eyes with a sigh:

“Besides, even if we have soulmates somewhere, we just have to reject them...”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi replied, gently caressing his hair. “We just have to do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dropping one's tray in the cafeteria. An universel trauma


	4. Chapter 3

Time seemed to stand still in Oikawa's kitchen, around the table where six people were sitting. Tooru had no idea what he was getting himself into, where it was going to lead him, what the consequences would be on his life afterwards. Hayashi gave him a smile once he agreed, and Oikawa didn't find it all that reassuring.

But it was for Tobio. Even though he hadn't seen his underclassman up close in years, he didn't want to cause trouble out of ill will.

“How will it go?”

He wished his voice had sounded a little firmer, but he couldn't deny that he dreaded what would come.

“Unfortunately, I can't just inject you with a product and wait for you to become hyper-receptive,” Hayashi replied. “In itself, I am only accompanying you during the process. It all has to come from you.”

“I never... tried to make that connection,” Oikawa muttered. “I rejected Tobio before anything happened.”

“How long ago?”

Oikawa pursed his lips.

“Six years.”

“A rejected bond, on one side or the other, eventually weakens and disappears completely within four years. You knew it?”

Tooru looked down. He knew this relationship wasn't normal from the start -fate had already been prankster enough to bond him with his rival, with someone he couldn't stand, and now it was forcing them to stay together despite their efforts to get rid of it. Oikawa looked down on Romero, and thought that Kageyama must not want that bond anymore either. So why did it persist?

“I didn't know it,” he said frankly. “But we're not gonna complain, if we can find Tobio through it. What do I have to do?”

“It's pretty abstract, actually, and it varies from couple to couple. What I can give as constants is that you have to mentally empty yourself to concentrate as much as possible on what comes from the other, to cling to this presence in order to get the most out of it. Trying to recreate a symbiosis, in a way.”

“What more will I feel?”

“What are you feeling now?” Hayashi returned.

Oikawa wasn't overly comfortable with expressing all this in front of two attentive policemen, Ushijima, and Tobio's boyfriend, if he could call him that. Saying in front of him that he felt most of the things that touched Kageyama was not of the first sensitivity… But Oikawa found himself a very welcome ability to not give a damn about it, and anyway, it's not like if _Nicolas_ would understand what he was saying.

“Without the annihilators, a lot of things,” he confessed. “I can sense when he's in pain somewhere, when he's not in his normal state, and when he has… intense moods, let's say. Anger, sadness, stuff like that.”

Hayashi took a few notes, then kindly looked up at Tooru:

“It is really encouraging. I think that we-“

He was interrupted by what Oikawa thought was a bombardment, before realizing that someone was knocking excessively hard on his door. Was it already Hinata? He felt assaulted just by the noise.

“Come in,” he called from the kitchen, hoping the intruder could hear him despite the banging.

He heard the door open, then quick, confident footsteps walking up the hall; and he expected anything, but certainly not for a young woman to barge in his kitchen with a furious expression. What struck him first was the resemblance to Tobio -the same large dark blue eyes, the same black, sleek and silky hair. The kinship was clearly obvious, even in her expression, and especially when she began to aggressively yell at the cops.

“Where is my brother? Why haven't I been notified before? What are you doing there instead of looking for him!? I had to call your colleagues to find out where-“

“Kageyama-san, please,” a policeman pleaded, getting up to give her his chair. “Calm down, we'll explain...”

 _Great_ , Oikawa thought as she collapsed into a chair in front of him and gave him an evil look.

“Tell me what's going on,” she demanded.

Her somewhat regal airs were reminiscent of Tobio's, and Oikawa inhaled painfully. He almost felt like he saw him there, and his absence was all the more obvious. The policemen tried to explain the situation to Kageyama’s sister, a little nervous under her cold gaze, repeating what Ushijima had explained.

“And why are we here?” she cut off at some point.

It was Hayashi who answered her eagerly:

“We can find him faster than via a classic investigation by relying on his soulmate.”

He continued to develop, but Oikawa was no longer listening, suddenly frozen to the bone by the gaze that fell on him.

“His soulmate,” she repeated slowly, staring at him. “I've seen you somewhere before. What's your name?”

“Oikawa Tooru.”

He hadn't thought before answering, couldn't help it, still half-stunned by the revelations that followed one another and stripped of his will by that insistent blue gaze.

“Oikawa, eh?” she said bitingly. “I should have expected something like that. I heard about you. The famous _rival player_ , _the unsurpassable upperclassman_ , _Oikawa-san_ -the asshole who rejected my brother, in fact. And now you’re interested in finding him? You might think he's gonna give you a chance -now he's famous, eh, and-“

“Miwa,” Romero interrupted, putting a hand on her arm. “He helps.”

 _What a disgusting accent_ , Oikawa thought rather than appreciating his support. His intervention seemed to force Tobio's sister -Miwa, obviously- to calm down a bit. Rather than speaking English to converse with Romero, she opted to talk slowly, making the words clear:

“Nico-chan, he has no rights over Tobio. I didn't even know it was him, his soulmate. Did you know that?”

“No.”

“Never mind,” Hayashi hastily said, waving his hands. “Oikawa-san is our best hope to find your brother as soon as possible, so if we could… put the enmities aside and get to work?”

“Yes,” she gave in, crossing her arms. “Please excuse me. I don't like leaving my little brother's safety in the hands of the one who let him down for one-night stands, but I guess everyone has a right to redemption.”

She gave him a consciously forced smile. _She must have seen the girl's phone number in the_ _hall_ , Tooru reasoned, berating himself for not having taken the time to throw it away. He sighed, knowing full well that he had made mistakes.

“I chose not to follow up on the bond, but that doesn't mean I want Tobio to be hurt. I'm frankly not enthused to become even more sensitive to what he feels, but I will try my best so that he is found safe and sound. That's all I can do.”

“It's already commendable,” a policeman declared. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

“Being with so many people won't help concentration,” Hayashi intervened. “Maybe we could find a quieter place while the others stay here?”

Oikawa nodded -if it could save him from the heavy stares coming from Tobio's loved ones… They left the kitchen as one of the policemen began to make phone calls, and Tooru decided that his room would probably be the best place to be calm. The bed was still unmade, and his clothes from the night before were trailing on the floor; he pushed them under the mattress with his foot, and adjusted the blankets to sit on, pointing the desk chair to Hayashi.

“I know it's not easy,” the specialist said, sitting down, his notepad on his knees. “A soulmate that you have felt for six years can’t leave you indifferent. It's impossible, no matter if the relationship is successful or not.”

Oikawa felt like he was in therapy for a moment. The sudden decompression, their isolation from others, the backlash from the morning news… He buried his head in his hands to regain his senses.

“You don't like being involved in all this, and I understand that, Oikawa-san. I don't want to dig into your past, I suspect you had reason not to follow through on that connection, and all of these people, all of these memories are coming back in ways that are not pleasant. Your collaboration is an act of courage.”

Hayashi glanced at his watch, then noted the time at the top of his sheet.

“I think the annihilators will start to dissipate, it's time to begin. I warn you, it could be psychologically and nervously stressful -but we'll spare some break times, of course. Are you ready?”

_I don't want a soulmate. I don’t want you. Soulmates are not for me._

Oikawa's eyes were determined when he replied:

“I'm ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be a flash-back ! Thanks for the kudos, bookmarks and comments ♥


	5. Chapter 3.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo!
> 
> New flashback chapter ! It's my birthday, and since I got fanarts from wonderful friends, I felt like I had to offer something as well !  
> Anyway, here's oikage soulmate realization ! Next chapter will be the first contact trough the bond.
> 
> Enjoy!

Oikawa turned sixteen still without a sign. His relationship with Iwaizumi was as perfect as ever -not really official, but everyone figured it, family included, and no one objected, as if they all had resigned to never see their soulmates appear.

“They might be someone without emotions or sensations,” his sister simply said, shrugging her shoulders.

"In that case, it's not even _someone_ ," Oikawa replied.

His family members and most of his friends had already found their soulmates and immediately partnered with them. It was natural, they said; impossible to do otherwise when sharing such a bond. It was a harmony, a balance, a constant exchange. But there were exceptions. Those whose soulmates had disappeared, and those who had had a strong enough will to resist this bond -and, after a few years, it ended up canceling itself. So basically it didn't matter: Oikawa had chosen Iwaizumi, and it would be Iwaizumi, with or without a soulmate.

And then the feelings began.

It wasn't something obvious, not a sudden pain or an inexplicable sensation -not like Mattsun, who had tickled Makki and found himself laughing louder than him. It wasn't a happy thing either. Oikawa felt a heaviness in his chest, an inexplicable pang in his heart. He didn't know where it could come from - everything was going well with his family, friends and Iwaizumi, he was performing well in sports and in class, nothing bothered him.

And yet, he used to wake up and find salt marks around his eyes without remembering to have cried. Everything was fine, and nothing was right -and slowly he came to realize that those feelings weren't coming from him. After so much time, his soulmate finally deigned to show a presence.

“I can sense them,” Oikawa confessed to Iwaizumi one day, as they neared the end of the year. “I feel things that are not mine.”

“I still don't feel anything,” Hajime replied. “My soulmate must be a pebble.”

“In that case you'll be fine together, _Iwa-chan_ ,” Oikawa pretended to be joking. “But for me, whether they exist or not, that doesn't change anything. I choose you.”

In truth, his soulmate was tiring him. Nothing positive seemed to come from them, and Tooru was doing his best to brighten up a daily life that this foreign grief made gloomy. More than once he had a more intense physical effect -suddenly short of breath lying in bed, dozing in the middle of the day, regularly suffering from muscle aches despite all the stretching he did at the club.

Sometimes he wondered what his soulmate might feel in return. They must have been aware of his knee problems, given the pain it caused; feel the anger and frustration that had come over him when he lost again to Shiratorizawa. He wondered if they also felt love when he was with Iwaizumi.

His exams had just ended when Hajime offered to go and see their underclassmen play.

“They are in the final,” he declared proudly. “I'm sure they can qualify for the Nationals, I want to see that.”

Oikawa followed, mostly to watch Kageyama play. He had heard that his underclassman had earned the nickname of _King of the Court_ , and wanted to see how far he had come -while taking care to spot the one who would surely become his greatest rival the following year, whether he would go to Aoba or not.

He and Iwaizumi leaned on the handrails overlooking the court and watched in silence. It clearly wasn't what they expected, and it was almost painful.

“What is he doing?” Oikawa growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Calm down,” Iwaizumi tempered. “This is only the first set.”

But Oikawa couldn't calm down. He felt a burning anger gnawing at him, something powerful that he had not felt since middle school, a rage mixed with despair… He had no reason to be so angry, on the contrary, to see Kageyama in this situation should have given him satisfaction and relief, so why...?

He understood a few minutes later.

Kageyama made a backset, a perfect technical move but too fast; no spiker moved, and the ball bounced off the court untouched. At the same moment, the referee whistled to signal a change of player, and a moment later Tobio was on the bench, covering his face, his whole body shaking.

“Oikawa, you alright?” Iwaizumi's voice asked.

Tooru found himself panting, hand clutching to his chest. From the moment the ball had fallen he had felt a violent tear, something intense enough to make his head spin, and he had staggered back a few steps... Deafened both by these sudden and brutal sensations and by the understanding that his soulmate was in fact right in front of his eyes.

“I'm coming back,” he whispered.

He hurried to the bathroom, still overwhelmed by emotions that were not his -anger and pain, frustration, incomprehension, still that buried sting that he had suffered for several months. And his own, accompanying it all, too confused for him to disentangle, reduced to a single observation - _Tobio is my soulmate._

It was ridiculous. It was so absurd. And yet that explained why the signs were only happening now -by the time Kageyama had come of age, too, to take part in this invisible bond.

But Oikawa didn't want that bond. He had made a promise, he would keep his word.

He remained alone for a long time in front of the mirror, leaning over the sinks, splashing his face with icy water to try to come back to his senses. This discovery did not change anything. Between Kageyama and Iwaizumi, the choice was quickly made.

He was finally about to leave when the door opened and Tobio entered.

He was in a bad state, Oikawa didn't need their connection to see that. He was still in his blue and white game outfit, a towel around his neck, his knee pads pulled down over the ankles, and the laces half undone. He was taller now, his hair had grown, his face had become thinner since the last time Oikawa had seen him -but the most glaring change was in his eyes, in his annoyed and haughty expression that had nothing in common with the underclassman Tooru remembered. The corners of his eyes were reddened, and his mouth froze in a suspicious pout, even after recognizing Oikawa.

Deep inside, Tooru felt their bond calling him, inviting him to console this boy, to ease his pain and reduce his own. But he refused all this, forced himself to ignore it.

“Tobio-chan,” he simply greeted him.

“Did you come to watch the game, Oikawa-san?” Tobio asked.

“Yes. And I'm not disappointed.”

It was a lie. But he couldn't afford to listen to fate now -it was too late, he had made up his mind. Kageyama might not even know what their real relationship was yet, and he would be much happier without knowing it. Oikawa was not going to take the risk of letting him compromise his relationship with Iwaizumi -no question of trying, of giving a chance, even of thinking about it.

“Tobio,” he said in a tone of false compassion. “Don't come to Aoba.”

He clearly saw Kageyama bite his bottom lip, felt the pain of his words even more -but he couldn't show it. He left him there and walked back to the halls to find Iwaizumi, satisfied on the surface with how things had turned out.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi called out all the same, several hours after returning home. “Your soulmate… It's Kageyama, isn't it?”

Oikawa froze. Hajime was insightful, whenever he wanted, and his unusual reactions at the gymnasium must have betrayed him. He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, replying indifferently:

“Possible. It doesn't change my promises. It's you I want, Iwa-chan, not him. The man of my life is you.”

Kageyama chose to go to Karasuno, and Oikawa was pleased to know that he wouldn't have to hang out with him for a year. The physical closeness only increased the soulmates' sensitivity to each other, and he found their bond far too intimate already.

In truth, Tobio had a rather small scale of feelings. It was mostly grief and anger, and Oikawa sometimes wondered what could happen to him for always being in such moods. In terms of sensations, Oikawa continued to feel the effects of intense physical training, but that matched his own, and he eventually didn't have too much to complain about.

They met soon after the start of the school year, during a training game between Aoba and Karasuno. He greeted Kageyama, of course, then challenged him to a duel, categorizing him as a rival rather than a soulmate; but, from the moment he arrived late until the moment Karasuno's team left his school, he had felt the intensity of a pair of blue eyes fixed on him.

That same evening, he received a message from Kageyama.

 **Tobio-chan:** Oikawa-san, excuse me for bothering you.

 **Tobio-chan** : I think I'm your soulmate.

What could possibly make him think that? He must have realized he shared a part of what Oikawa was feeling, but which one? Had he sensed his astonishment at their special quick set, his delight in targeting weak receivers, or was it just their proximity that had ended up making it obvious? He didn't want to wonder about it. He thought the rejection had been clear, from the moment he told Kageyama not to join him in Aoba, and making things more explicit would probably hurt him as much as it did to Tobio.

 **Me** : No, I don't think so.

 **Tobio-chan** : But I felt it

 **Me** : I have a boyfriend, I have already made my choice

 **Me** : I don't want a soulmate

 **Me** : I don't want you

Kageyama didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Oikawa amply felt his disappointment -and for his part, Tobio must have sensed that this determination was mixed with guilt. Going against nature was not easy, Tooru knew that a part of him was trying to reach towards his underclassman; but he changed his mind, firmly, clung to his principles and what he had said to Iwaizumi. Now that the rejection was clear, all he had to do was wait for the bond to gradually dissipate.

It was right at this moment, when he thought he was done with these soulmate stories, that Iwaizumi met his own.


	6. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First contact through the bond !

“Breathe deeply. Clear your mind, try to remove everything that clutters it so you can focus only on your sensations.”

Oikawa had closed his eyes, sitting on the edge of his bed, hands resting on his knees. _Funny guy…_ , he thought, gritting his teeth. _Tobio is held up somewhere, it's a matter of life and death. I discovered that he has a sister and she hates me. His boyfriend and his roommate are with the police in my kitchen._

He felt that the effects of the annihilators were starting to wear off, but found it difficult to make out - was it his own panic that he was feeling, or Tobio's? Was it the situation that was giving him a headache, or was it always related to the migraines of the night? He focused on his breathing, guided by Hayashi's voice:

“There are your sensations, your feelings, and those that do not belong to you. They have always been anchored in you, ever since your soulmate relationship began to exist. You know how to differentiate them from yours, that's something natural. You can tell them apart.”

 _Yes_. Now that he was calming down, Oikawa could assign what he was feeling to himself or to Tobio; it was innate, he just knew it, without a logical explanation. Everything he felt came from him, within himself -and what came from Kageyama appeared as in a mirror, display of authenticity and echo within his very being. As if it was melted into his backbone, as if his shadow was sewn to his.

“Try to reduce the space taken by your own feelings. Let those you receive grow, welcome them. Do not be afraid.”

 _There are reasons to be afraid_ , Oikawa thought, briefly breaking his concentration. Diving into the psyche of someone in such a critical situation did not foresee any good; he felt it, the same as when he came back from the run: a heavy, tangled something that he didn't dare to look at too closely, of which he did not want to unfold the sides.

He forced himself. A long shiver ran through him, ran over the skin bristling with goosebumps, and he held his breath as if he had been immersed in ice water. The pain in his head resurfaced, sharper and acuter, twisting his head with a lead bar. The feeling of uneasiness grew stronger, as if it slowly gnawed at the flesh in his chest, twitching with a host of alien feelings -confusion, worry, fear, which grew more and more to panic as he continued his intrusion, diving into the twists and turns of these abstract feelings, finally touching something, finally feeling that the bond was made fully and-

He opened his eyes, gasping, suddenly breaking everything.

“Oikawa-san, are you okay?”

It was Hayashi's voice, which seemed far away, so far away. Tooru found it hard to catch his breath, and felt a drop of sweat roll down his temple.

“Y-Yeah,” he articulated, leaning on his knees.

“Tell me everything. What did you see? What did you feel? Was it the first time you went this far?”

It took him several seconds to breathe again, then he nodded. However brief the contact had been, he had exhausted him, drained him of his energy. And yet he was far from having drawn anything concrete from it...

“Fear,” he finally said. “Uncertainty. Still headache. Nothing that does really help us.”

What did they expect from him? The bond of soulmates was remarkable, but did not allow him to act for Tobio or see through his eyes. He had only indistinct feelings related to him, but would be unable to determine the distance between them, or anything other than vague pain and obvious worry.

“You had never explored the bond before?” Hayashi questioned, writing at full speed on his notebook.

“No,” Oikawa replied. “I told you, I rejected it.”

The look the specialist gave him over his notepad clearly meant _so why is it still alive?_ but he refrained from commenting, and Oikawa was grateful to him. He realized his hands were shaking, and he wedged them between his thighs. This little dive into the consciousness of his soulmate did not leave him unscathed, he felt it. He felt like he had gone too far, felt things he shouldn't have felt… but it was still nothing compared to what was expected of him.

“What exactly did you feel? On your side?”

Oikawa looked up at his ceiling, searching for the right words to describe what he had just experienced.

“I did as you said. I focused on what was coming from him. I felt the same things as last night and this morning, but amplified, more… precise.”

“As if you were looking for the right frequency,” the specialist smiled.

“Yeah, that's it. I felt like I was about to find him, but… I don't know, I panicked.”

“You panicked? Or did _he_ panic?”

“I, uh… I don't know,” Oikawa replied, confused.

He had believed he was the only one to move forward in the bond as if it was something separate from them, some sort of entity that connected him to Tobio within itself. But what if Kageyama had felt it? Was that what Hayashi was implying? That every step Oikawa would take towards him, every step in his mind… he would feel it?

The specialist must have read his face, for he asked soothingly:

“What is a bond, Oikawa-san?”

“It's… that's what connects someone to someone else. It creates contact between them.”

“Exactly. A bond only exists if there are two people to share it, one at each end. The further you go in this connection, the more your soulmate will feel it. If Kageyama-san wanted to, he could almost completely hide his feelings from you. If you were able to read in him, it is because he authorized it… And the more you want to go far and deepen this bond, then he will have to accept it and live with it.”

“I've never heard of that,” Oikawa said.

He thought about the couples of soulmates he knew -his parents, his sister, his friends. Again came the distant image of a couple he had looked at in despair years earlier -the light in the girl's eyes, Iwaizumi's smile…

“It's normal. When soulmates form loving couples, it happens quite naturally, as trust is created and they give in to each other -a process accelerated precisely by their perception of each other... You weren't very close to Kageyama-san, I guess?

A line of images crossed Oikawa's head. The day he heard the coaches say they would make Tobio a great setter. The night he almost hit him. _Don't come to Aoba. I do not want you._

And yet… yet the desire to see him. The idea that he was his successor on the court. The pride he couldn't repress. His irritation at Romero. So much evidence, like it or not, that there was something between them.

“No,” he whispered. “He was my rival in middle school and high school. We play volleyball, we are at the same position. Today, we’re both playing in pro.”

“You never thought that these similarities were not done by chance?”

Oikawa shrugged.

“You asked me if we are close. Yes and no.”

The questions embarrassed him. He didn't want to think any further. He had never really known how he felt for Tobio, too many conflicting feelings collided when it came to him. Oikawa couldn't disentangle his own feelings from the bond of soulmates, how they evolved from fear to attraction, from mistrust to pride -it was all too muddled, and anyway ... anyway, at the time… He had not seen fit to give them importance.

He remembered the words of that day. _Maybe you should go back to him. We are made for this._ He remembered the anger that consumed him, the jealousy that bit his esteem, the tears that blocked his view. _Maybe I should have, yes. Maybe it's too late now._

“I'm going to try again,” he declared.

“Let's wait five minutes,” Hayashi said. “Forcing things is not good for you or him. You are as pale as a sheet.”

He held out a hand to help him up, and Oikawa accepted it despite the sense of emergency that was starting to take hold of him.

_Tobio is in danger._

_My soulmate is in danger._

_If things go wrong… what will I do?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for kudos, comments and bookmarks ♥


	7. Chapter 4.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third flash-back ! Ther will be 5 of them, as well as 5 discussions between Oikawa and Tobio's friends, and 5 contacts through the bond.

It was right before their first tournament, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi were in town after school. They had improvised this little excursion to spend time together, and had hung out a bit while eating ice cream. Everything was perfect: a summer evening was slowly falling over the city, they were enjoying their time together, and Kageyama didn't seem in a mood intense enough to bother Oikawa.

“I've started listing weak receivers,” Oikawa boasted, licking his ice cream. “When we fall against Shiratorizawa in the final, I’ll have to aim for the first year, Goshiki. He is less stable than the others.”

“Did you do that for all the teams?” Iwaizumi asked, raising his eyebrows. “How much time did you spend watching games instead of sleeping again?”

“Is it the maternal instinct speaking, Iwa-chan?”

Oikawa stuck out his tongue to complete the provocation, already waiting for the written sequence of the sequel -Iwaizumi would get worked up, at least pretend to be, slap him while Oikawa laughed, and they would forgive each other like a game.

But instead, Iwaizumi's gaze froze. His ice cream fell at his feet, and he inhaled deeply, shaking his head as if emerging from a dream or a trance.

“Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, taken aback.

“I- Wait.”

They both turned to see a girl standing up from a flower bed a little further away. Oikawa hadn't had time to grasp what was going on that Iwaizumi trotted towards her:

“Eh! You're okay?”

He held out a hand to help her stand up; and the moment Tooru saw their fingers touching, a horrible jealousy took hold of his whole being. The scene he was witnessing finally made sense. Iwaizumi had _felt_ this girl fall backwards…

Oikawa joined them, still in shock, while the girl was justifying herself:

“Sorry! I wanted to take a photo of the place, and while backing up for a wider angle, I tripped over the border and fell into the flowers!”

“It's nothing, it happens,” Iwaizumi replied with a smile.

Oikawa felt his heart crack when he saw his expression. It wasn't just soulmates, it was love at first sight. Iwaizumi would never have let show that smile, that sweetness in his eyes, that interest - usually so withdrawn, he who usually only revealed this to Oikawa...

“My name is Katsuko,” the girl said, returning his smile. “I am in the public high school a little further.”

“Iwaizumi,” Hajime introduced himself. “Nice to meet you. And he is Oikawa -we are from Aoba Johsai High School.”

Tooru was barely grateful to Iwaizumi for introducing him, consumed by jealousy, helpless spectator of a soulmate who meets another. He finally took his eyes off Iwaizumi and focused on the girl -a little younger than them, probably Tobio's age; which explained the late signs there too. She had long brown hair, fair skin, blue-gray eyes. Nothing special, but Iwaizumi was looking at her in a way that wasn't fooling.

“Aoba Johsai!” she repeated in awe. “You must be a good student!”

She blushed right after, nervously tweaking a strand of hair behind her ear. Iwaizumi's smile widened, and Oikawa couldn't stand it anymore:

“Well then, Iwa-chan?” he shouted, shoving him with his shoulder. “For once girls are interested in you! Sorry,” he added to Katsuko, “he's not used to it.”

“You idiot,” Iwaizumi hissed, slapping him on the head. “I'm sorry, this moron doesn't know how to behave in public.”

“Anyway,” Oikawa said in a suddenly less jovial voice, “we're going to be late. We gotta go, Iwa-chan.”

He smirked at the girl, then pulled Iwaizumi by the strap of his backpack to drag him.

“Goodbye, Iwaizumi-san,” Katsuko said with a vague wave of his hand.

“See you next time,” Hajime replied.

Oikawa waited until he had walked up a few streets before letting go of Iwaizumi and standing in front of him, crossing his arms:

“See you _next time_? What was that!? In front of my eyes, right there, you...”

“I what?” Iwaizumi repeated sharply. “I am not allowed to talk?”

“Did you see how you looked at her?” cried Oikawa. “As if... As if it was...”

“My soulmate?” Hajime finished. “Yeah, I was able to figure it out on my own, imagine. So what does that change? It's like you said. We don't have to do anything. I'm sure I will never see her again.”

Oikawa wanted to cry. He had the impression that Iwaizumi was slipping away from him, just like that, slipping through his fingers without him being able to do anything about it.

“You’re wrong,” he accused sniffing. “Soulmates are made to see each other over and over again. It is the rule.”

“Good thing I did not make you such a drama when you found yours,” Iwaizumi said exasperated.

“But for me there was no risk, I hate him,” Tooru squeaked.

Iwaizumi sighed, but didn't insist; he took Oikawa's hand and started walking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama, feeling the jealousy : Oh? Is this karma?


	8. Chapter 5

When Oikawa returned to the kitchen, everyone was busy. One of the police officers, on the phone, was leaving a message to find out whether the building where Kageyama and Ushijima lived was equipped with intercoms or security cameras. Ushijima, near the fridge, was also talking on the phone, explaining again what had happened that morning, probably to their captain or his teammates. In a corner, Kageyama's sister and Romero were talking in low voices –or rather, from what Oikawa was seeing, an upset Miwa was talking and Romero was listening. She paused when she saw Oikawa, and he suspected he was their talking point.

“So?” the second policeman asked, lifting his head from his papers. “Do you have any leads?”

“It's still uncertain,” Hayashi replied, “but it's only the beginning. The bond has strengthened, there is already that for sure. We'll try again in ten minutes, time to recover.”

Ushijima hung up at that moment, and Oikawa suddenly felt the center of all stares. He sat down, a little distraught that he had no results to present, still anxious to know that the investigation rested on him.

“Who was the last to be in contact with him?” one of the policemen asked.

“I don't think he received people in our apartment,” Ushijima declared.

He tapped on his phone to find their thread, and Oikawa realized he had never seen Ushijima with a phone in his hands before –and he would have hoped for an old flip phone, and was quite disappointed to see a normal smartphone.

“I got his last message at eight o'clock,” he said. “We were talking about the camp.”

 _Surprising_ , Oikawa thought, before his gaze slipped to Romero who was unlocking his own phone.

“I have later,” he said in his rough Japanese.

He held out his phone, the screen forward for the officer to note the time. Despite himself, Oikawa narrowed his eyes to see the content of the messages -did they use English even by text? It must be quite funny, coming from Tobio… Or did Romero have enough knowledge of Japanese to have a written discussion?

Nothing of the sort. From what he saw, it was just the exchange of emojis. _Heart emojis_.

He felt his heart sink. _Tobio must have felt that, hey_. Oikawa swallowed, then sat down calmly, trying not to betray his discomfort. To think that Kageyama was able to give tenderness awakened something in him that he didn't want to think about. As the policeman referenced the time of the last message, Oikawa began to contemplate the face of the Brazilian player.

Despite his want to speak ill about him, he was a handsome man. Dark brown hair, slightly wavy, clearing his face; tanned complexion, eyes bright and caramel color, a beard of a few days; although his expression was neutral and worried, his features revealed that he used to be rather playful. He had taken off his Adlers jacket, sporting a simple black T-shirt underneath that hugged the contours of his chest and highlighted the bulging muscles of his arms. He exuded an aura of quiet power, benevolence and maturity -in addition to a certain charm unique to hot countries.

“Oikawa,” Miwa called suddenly. “Can I talk to you a bit in private?”

She looked calmer than when she arrived, but that didn't stop Oikawa from dreading. He looked around for Hayashi, as if hoping he'd suggest going back to work on the bond instead, but the doctor was pouring himself more coffee and nodded to mean he could go. Oikawa stood up reluctantly, and walked towards the living room so that the others could not overhear their conversation.

 _Time to take responsibility for what I did_ , he thought as he sat up on the armrest of his couch. Despite Miwa's visibly virulent mood, she did not immediately start hostilities, staring intently at him at first as if to probe his intentions -and Oikawa was only more sensitive to her resemblance to Tobio.

“My brother never told me he had a soulmate,” she finally said, looking away.

It stung. Oikawa ignored the sensation.

“I'm sorry,” he said for lack of anything else.

“Why did you reject him?”

It was straightforward; no way to dodge. Oikawa considered his fingernails for a few seconds before answering, playing frankness:

“I had promised to stay in a relationship with someone else, even before my soulmate was assigned to me. It had been five years already. I didn't want to stop everything just because fate had tied me up with someone else. I -I was…”

He bit his lip, then brought himself to say it:

“I was in love with him.”

Miwa seemed to soften. Her gaze grew distant, and she slowly nodded.

“Yeah, I understand. But it doesn't look like he's with you there. You eventually broke up.”

Oikawa let out a deep sigh, then shrugged, pretending as always to be indifferent, futile, as if nothing really mattered; years had passed since their break up, but he had never found such a stable or lasting relationship, and looking back on that time never failed to awaken a dull pain in him.

“We eventually broke up,” he repeated. “Yeah. And then I went to Argentina for four years to take some distance. It was for my career, what could I do? Get Tobio out of Karasuno and take him there with me when he was only sixteen?”

“Surely he would have thought twice about it,” she replied. “You know him, you - you know he admires you, right? I could hear him talking to Kazuyo about you all the time –Oikawa-san here, jump serve there, even after… And his soulmate on top of that, even though he didn't know it at the time.”

 _Kazuyo? Who's that?_ Tooru wondered. Miwa's words left him with a bitter taste, like he had let too many things go. But he was telling the truth. He had wanted to focus on his career, the break up with Iwaizumi was still too fresh at the end of high school; and when he returned to Japan, Tobio was already playing for the Adlers alongside Romero.

“I'm sorry,” he repeated.

Miwa threw her hands in the air in annoyance or perhaps despair, then sank into a chair. Finally, in a small voice, she asked:

“How did you know that he was your soulmate? What did you feel?”

“Sadness. Something heavy, steady. It wasn't… sudden like other couples told me it would be, nothing brutal. More like a pain that set in, right there.”

He put an absent hand to his chest. He still felt it, to tell the truth, mingled with a multitude of other things coming from Tobio.

“At the time, he must have been in his third year of middle school.”

“I suspected it. This is the year Kazuyo -our grandfather- passed away.”

Oikawa opened his eyes wide. He had always believed that these emotions stemmed from Tobio's gradual isolation from Kitagawa Daiichi's team, during his evolution to selfish king status. That these heavy feelings were related to the volleyball, to arguments with Kindaichi and Kunimi. He never would have expected this. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and Miwa continued in a slightly altered voice:

“Our parents weren't at home often, so he raised us. He was a volleyball coach and took us to the gym when we were little, he taught us how to play. Tobio was very close to him -always training in the garden, accompanying him wherever he went, watching games together on TV… Kazuyo would go to see him when he was doing his first games. His death really affected him. He closed in on himself after that.”

Oikawa took the full brunt of the shock. The soulmate bond often came about by chance, depending on several factors -physical proximity, in large part, and the relationship the two parties already had. When it revealed itself depended on the combination of that data. But sometimes, as in their case, the bond arose when the feelings of one or the other were too intense, and somehow spilled over to each other. The first connection Oikawa felt was no accident.

It was a cry for help.

 _He closed in on himself after that_. The ever-hungry to learn little Tobio-chan, whose face lit up every time he was on the court in first year, transformed two years later into a lonely and haughty teenager, completely detached from his teammates. The missing link finally appeared to Oikawa, and the violence of the revelation left him speechless.

 _If I had been with him then, he might never have become a king_. And that last toss, that day, the day Oikawa understood… Did Kindaichi and Kunimi know? Did they know at the time that anger and arrogance actually hid deep and recent wounds? And Oikawa ... Oikawa who had stood in front of him, who had been able to sense the ounce of despair that no one else could see, how had he comforted him, how had he supported him?

_Don't come to Aoba._

He took his head in his hands, completely overwhelmed by remorse. _If only I had known_ …, he thought before correcting himself: _no, I knew it, I felt it_. _It was my role to go to him, and I rejected him._

“You did not know?” Miwa said in a cold but calm tone. “Look, we exchange. You find out why he was in pain, I find out he has a soulmate. That… Tobio knows how to keep his secrets.”

And who would have believed it. Kageyama had always appeared to Oikawa to be straightforward and sincere -a raw talent, a visible personality. And yet… yet he had hidden a lot of information. He had created his own defense mechanisms, had been left alone with it all... Even to his boyfriend, he had not revealed Oikawa's identity. _You hide your game well, Tobio-chan._

“Nico is a good person for him,” Miwa suddenly said as if she had read his mind. “He is calm, he is always in a good mood. It feels good for Tobio to be with him.”

 _Ow_.

“I think deep down that my brother was looking for is someone who understands that there is more than his stubborn demeanor. Someone who is aware that he has flaws and weaknesses, that he is not a perfect little genius in an ideal world.”

 _Ouch_.

“That's what's good about Nico. He is mature, he is protective. He always takes care of him, that's adorable.”

 _Adorable_. Oikawa, finished by the succession of declarations, let out a muffled whine; and Miwa gave him a look which, for the first time, displayed a bit of sweetness.

“A soulmate remains a soulmate,” she said sadly. “Nico can never be what you are to him despite his efforts. I don't know if you would be better for Tobio… Logically… No, I don't know. There's no point in guessing when my brother's life is in danger.”

She pursed her lips, her eyes suddenly cloudy, then eagerly stood up from the chair and put her hand on Oikawa's shoulder for a few seconds:

“Sorry for calling you an asshole. I… I really thank you for helping us.”

She smiled, but her eyes betrayed that she was on the verge of tears, and she hurried back to the kitchen. Tooru remained there, staring at the opposite wall, still devastated. _Tobio… Everything could have been different if we had been together_. He knew that the choice he had made at the time, with the little information he had, was the only one he could make. But he also knew that these questions would haunt him forever now, that those last missing pieces that he had ignored until then only reinforced his guilt.

A rustle almost made him jump, and turning around, he saw that Hayashi had taken Miwa's place and was looking at him intently.

“Shall we go back to it?” he asked softly.

Oikawa smiled, out of politeness and to hide how shaken he was.

“Let's go,” he said.

_You hide your game well, Tobio-chan._

_But if someone can read through you… It’s me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not over chapter 387


	9. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holidays mean more time to translate ! Here is chapter 6 -second contact through the bond, and more concrete stuff about soulmates.  
> Enjoy !

There was a slight noise coming from the kitchen, but Oikawa thought he could overcome it without too much difficulty. Ushijima was on the phone again, and he could hear his words, _yes, I'll keep you informed, Hirugami-san_ , as well as the policemen trying to reach the janitors without success. He could hear Romero's low, deep voice talking to Miwa, but couldn't identify the syllables.

“Just like you did before,” Hayashi said softly. “Stop thinking, try to feel.”

Oikawa felt nervous, but wasn't so apprehensive anymore. He closed his eyes, his hands resting on his thighs, palms open. He inhaled and then exhaled slowly. His feelings were boiling, guilt, remorse, regret, fear, a twinge of jealousy, too -but he put it all aside and cleared his mind. He didn't have time to think about himself, no time to be selfish.

He focused on the sensation in his chest, deep inside him, on those tangled feelings that were waiting for his attention. He walked over to them, made them his own, finally agreeing to look them in the face - _these are my soulmate's feelings, and they are a part of me_.

He let them reveal themselves, develop and grow, take possession of him. As before, the headache reappeared -fear, panic, confusion. Oikawa accepted it. If he wanted to go further, he had to accept everything ... and Tobio had to accept it too. He felt like he perceived him, closer than ever, almost palpable, a strong presence in a fragile bond.

 _Tobio-chan_.

He surrendered more, ready to receive as much as Kageyama wanted to give. A shiver crept up his back, a feeling of physical and mental discomfort. Something was touching his skin, something foreign, something gross. Tingles spread over his cheeks, his lips, his temples. Needles ran through his fingers, the veins in his forearms throbbed. The banging in his head was still going strong, he felt nauseous.

_I'm here._

He was having trouble breathing. Something rough and dirty was blocking his mouth. He felt the tender skin on his wrists itch and burn like it was scratched, but couldn't touch it. His limbs were numb. He wanted to cry. His heart was beating too hard and too fast. It was drumming against his rib cage as if he wanted to get out of it, as if he wanted to escape from his body, too, and join the one to whom he must belong...

_I’m with you._

“Oikawa-san!” Hayashi's voice cried.

Oikawa opened his eyes. Hayashi's cloudy face greeted him, pale and panicked; he felt fingers clenched on his shoulders, and turning his face slightly, he saw all eyes fixed on him. The silence that reigned in the apartment suffocated him.

“I…” he began in a hoarse voice.

He felt a salty taste on his lips, and suddenly realized that his cheeks were streaked with tears. He hastened to wipe them off with the back of his sleeve, still not understanding what had just happened. He was trembling all over his body, still feeling the shackles on his own skin.

“You've been far,” Hayashi said still without letting go. “Very far.”

Tooru didn't know what to answer, busy catching his breath. The trance phase had strained him even more than the first time -he wasn't aware that things could go that far, that he could get so lost in the depths of their bond. He felt like he could feel Tobio's presence all around him, grafted to his skin, perched in his mind.

“What did you feel?” Hayashi asked, finally sitting down to face him. “Did you see something? Have you vested his senses?”

“I… I felt he was gagged,” Oikawa whispered. “I believe his wrists are tied. I'm not sure, but I think he's blindfolded.”

He tried to regain a regular breathing, without success; when he looked up, everyone else had joined the living room, the two policemen squatting in front of him, Ushijima, Miwa and Romero standing in a corner, trying not to stare at him.

“There...,” he said in a muffled voice, “there were voices...”

“You heard his captors say something!?” one of the policemen exclaimed.

“No… It was my voice.”

 _Tobio-chan, I'm here, I'm with you_. He had meant it, he had expressed it with his whole being, but he had no idea how those words had come to his mind.

“For the investigation,” the other policeman immediately demanded. “He is tied. The eyes, the mouth, the wrists. Did you feel anything else?”

Oikawa shook his head negatively, his throat too tight to let any more words pass.

“It's already a big step forward,” Hayashi argued. “Let Oikawa-san breathe a little, please. I think a glass of water would do him good...”

Ushijima took care of it, and Oikawa accepted the glass without looking at him. He drank slowly, still haunted by what he had felt.

“Did you hear each other?” Hayashi asked calmly.

“Yes. I was talking to Tobio as if he could hear me. But at no point did I want to think that, I mean, I was focusing on his feelings, and all of a sudden it echoed in my head -I ... I'm schizophrenic, right?”

“No, don't worry,” Hayashi smiled. “This is something that has already been observed in cases like yours.”

He didn't add anything for a moment, giving Oikawa the time to calm down. He finished drinking and put the empty glass on the coffee table, then got up and took a few steps to stretch his legs, brushing the furniture with a distracted hand as if to make sure he was back in his body, in his apartment.

Finally, he opened the window and leaned against it, in need of some fresh air; Hayashi joined him there.

“Have you ever heard of the myth of soulmates?” he asked.

“We live in it, don't we?”

“I want to talk about the origins. The Platonic myth.”

Oikawa didn't answer, looking around the city that lay before him, wondering if Kageyama was there anywhere, waiting for someone to come and get him.

“Plato said that at first, the gods created us with four arms, four legs and two faces,” Hayashi said. “So we were one, we formed a whole. This is called the original androgyny, and everything was ideal until, by a divine gesture, they were separated into two, forming the beings we are today. And since that day, each person is doomed to know and find his other half in the world around him to reunite this lost harmony.”

“It's very beautiful,” Oikawa commented wryly. “But if you don't mind, I have a bit of doubt that we were all eight-members balls happily rolling around the plains of the Peloponnese.”

“It's a myth,” Hayashi replied, laughing. “This is the explanation the ancients came up with for why each of us has a person who is exactly made for us. In fact, even if humanity has been able to establish the rules, many gray areas continue to surround this reality. How is this bond created? Is it present from birth? From the moment of our conception? Are there any criteria for bringing two people together? How, then, is it possible to dismiss it if it’s meant to be perfect?”

Oikawa snorted. These questions had often been asked. Why Tobio and not Hajime? Why had fate not wanted to give them this chance? Why assign him a rival, someone with whom he had an adversarial relationship, rather than miraculously appearing to him as a person he would match and like at first sight, like Iwaizumi did?

“Anyway, this bond does exist, and you are exploring it,” the specialist continued. “This is the first time that it has been fully activated. It was just an attempt earlier, a surface expedition -now you've been there, haven't you? You were able to receive communion.”

A nod of the head took the place of an answer.

“In addition to the violent sensations, you have been able to vest his senses. A start, anyway. Touch is always the first step, it's most obvious, most glaring, especially in Kageyama-san's situation. As you keep trying, you will reach more specific stages - sight, hearing, smell and taste. You will be able to feel all the nuances of his moods, the slightest change in his condition.”

“And that always comes at the cost of an anxiety attack?” Oikawa asked, clenching and releasing his fists.

“No, I reassure you. The next attempts should be more... serene, now that the bond is restored in all its power.”

Tooru mumbled a indistinct _great_ before diving back into his contemplation of the landscape. Too many things were happening too fast. This day was supposed to be quite normal, just like any other, and suddenly he found himself embroiled in an investigation, coming into psychological contact with a soulmate he had rejected years before.

He had wanted to forget Tobio, but had never succeeded, even with the annihilators. He had wanted to move on, gradually erase his memories of him from his brain, and lo and behold all those close to him appeared and he was learning things about his former rival that he would never have suspected.

“And the voice?” he asked. “You did not answer me. Who was speaking?”

“It was you, of course,” Hayashi said, smiling. “But it wasn't exactly you, either.”

“Thanks for the clarity,” Oikawa replied sharply.

“What I mean is that there are many layers in your psyche. There is the social you, as you are now, with your memories, your experiences, your character. And there is a deeper you, an unconscious you, a subconscious even, which is not affected by everything that has built you, which instead reflects what is innate in you. The survival instinct, for example ... and the bond of soulmates. When contact was finally made, you acted with a reflex that you did not know, as it has never been able to develop before today.”

“It has always been there?

“Always. The more traditional couples, as for the permeability of the bond, do it without realizing it, since it is also a part of their romantic relationship. The expression of their subconscious attraction to a soulmate is expressed in the same way as a person in love with the one they desire.”

It was still a lot to take, but Oikawa struggled to hold on. He swallowed hard and for a moment savored the feel of his locks waving in the breeze; then he asked, quietly, in a barely audible voice:

“And… those words I said… did he hear them?”

“Perhaps. It all depends on his own relation to your bond. But if he didn't necessarily read them… He at least felt them.”

“So he knows I'm looking for him?” Oikawa asked, and his voice betrayed a hint of despair.

He recovered immediately, blaming himself for appearing so sensitive; but it was the truth, the situation was upsetting him deeply. He was the only one who could come into contact with Tobio. The only one who could save him -and what could Kageyama think, for his part, when he felt Oikawa's presence after so many years of silence? Tooru buried his hands in his jeans pockets and turned away from the window.

“He must be aware of it, yes. Psychologically, this kind of connection is often beneficial for victims. You must feel that Kageyama-san is in an extremely stressful situation - isolated, cut off from the world, deprived of his means. The only thing that hangs him on the outside is his connection to you.”

It put more weight on Oikawa's shoulders, but he didn't let it show. His thoughts drifted to the next attempt, and the next one again; what new steps would he discover? If Tobio could think of words like he did, could they communicate that way, through a quasi-telepathic bond? He didn't know, it sounded crazy to him, but he went from surprise to surprise and nothing stunned him anymore.

“You can feel his distress,” said Hayashi. “Think it's reciprocal. If he clings to the bond like you do, he can draw strength from your well-being.”

Oikawa couldn't help but let out a mirthless laugh. _My well-being_. He was nervously exhausted despite having just started, completely turned upside down by successive revelations, tortured by the past, anxious for the present, completely lost in every way. Was that what Kageyama was supposed to take comfort from?

 _My little Tobio_ , he thought, _I think we're both screwed_...

… _But at least we’re together_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, reviews, bookmarks and all ♥


	10. Chapter 6.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty flash-back~

Playing against Tobio was both exhilarating and frustrating.

Oikawa could feel all his determination, all his passion, and they came to double his own, pushing him beyond his limits. He was reading in Tobio as in an open book thanks to their special bond, and of which he was quite sure that only they, plus Iwaizumi, knew the existence; he easily fooled Kageyama in their battle at the net, then sensed the final attack, giving the victory to Aoba. Tobio had read his game too at some point, but it didn't matter.

The frustration part came from the fact that he couldn't savor the victory, with all the sadness emanating from Tobio that darkened his mood. He was sure that their loss in the final to Shiratorizawa was partly due to it. And the reverse was also true: a few months later, when they lost against Karasuno during the race for the Nationals, he couldn’t properly mourn the defeat, half occupied by the euphoria of his underclassman.

The inconvenience did not end there. Despite all his good will, Oikawa was unable to refrain from going to watch the game against Shiratorizawa –from coming back to Tobio. It was the logic of things, two soulmates could only converge towards each other; but that he was so easily subjected to this fact frightened him a lot.

November arrived, and the problems with it. One evening when Oikawa was sleeping at Iwaizumi's, he noticed that his boyfriend was on his phone; and, by climbing on top of him to ask for his attention, he wasn’t expecting to read that the interlocutor was none other than Katsuko. He felt like being slapped in the face.

“You saw her again!?”

“I ran into her, yes,” Iwaizumi replied without looking away from his screen.

“Iwa-chan, look at me.”

Iwaizumi complied, his green eyes filled with boredom, and deigned to put his phone down.

“I ran into her at the bookstore where I went the other day,” he explained. “She recognized me, and I saw that she had a volleyball charm hanging from her bag. So the conversation started naturally, and we exchanged our numbers.”

“And…?” Oikawa whispered, his throat dry.

“You know she plays the same position and has the same number as me!?” Iwaizumi suddenly said happily. “What a coincidence-“

"Ah, yeah," Tooru replied in an icy voice. “As if you were made for each other.”

He stood up and picked up his things without a word.

“Where are you going?” Iwaizumi asked.

“I am leaving.”

“Oikawa, there's nothing.”

“There is too much,” Tooru interrupted. “You're dating with me, right? Because I’m asking myself the question, there. Are you really favoring a girl you've seen twice over the guy you've been supposed to love for five years?”

“Of course not, stop being a kid.”

“Yeah, don't worry. I'll let you talk to her in peace.”

He left the house, letting the cold wind freeze the tears on his cheeks. The power of soulmates was mighty, he had never doubted it. But he had believed that Iwaizumi would be strong enough to resist it like he had done himself all those times where he wanted to go to Tobio; all those times he had felt him angry, frustrated, discouraged, heartbroken, but didn’t dare to send him a message to know if he could help, determined to remain faithful to his commitments until the end.

Iwaizumi apologized the next day, but things didn't end there. He was talking to Katsuko every day, and though Oikawa made reproaches and tantrums, she reappeared all the time. He had deleted her number and conversation from Iwaizumi's phone, but she had sent another message; and more than once Oikawa had to say no when Iwaizumi asked if she could come with them for an outing.

"Her team has a practice match against Aoba's girls team tomorrow," Iwaizumi said one day. “Do you want to go?”

“No.”

Oikawa felt that his mood was deteriorating day by day since the beginning of this story. To be able to only look and unable to do something, to see himself overwhelmed like that left him with a familiar and bitter taste.

“I don't want you to go,” he said clearly. “Iwa-chan, it's her or me.”

“It's you,” Iwaizumi replied.

But the next day, when they left class to go to the library, Katsuko appeared out of nowhere, on the verge of jumping on Iwaizumi, blushing profusely as she approached him:

“H-Hi Iwa-san!”

“Hi Katsuko! Ready for the game?”

“Ready to win!”

She gave him a big smile and pretended to show her muscles. Oikawa’s world was slowly collapsing around them, around Iwaizumi laughing and Katsuko chatting happily, the very picture of the ideal couple.

“Iwaizumi found his soulmate?” Makki whispered in Oikawa's ear.

“Birds of a feather flock together,” Mattsun completed from the other side.

They stopped dead when they saw Oikawa's expression.

Iwaizumi was so… free with her. So happy. So natural. How could he even hope to compete? What sort of hybris had taken him back then, to believe he could come and ruin fate's plans to oppose his decision? Iwaizumi was in love. It was nothing like the relationship they had had for the last five years –everything had been swept away by Katsuko’s arrival, the one he was doomed to love from the start. Normal feelings, even strong ones, couldn't compete with the attraction of a soulmate.

“Are you coming to see me play?” Katsuko ended up asking.

“Yes, of course ! Let me just ask Oikawa if...”

Iwaizumi turned around, ready to make his request, but only found Makki and Mattsun instead of Tooru, shaking their heads with a grim expression.

“Sorry,” Iwaizumi said hurriedly, putting his hand on Katsuko's shoulder. “I'll come see the next one, I promise.”

“Don't worry,” she replied. “I'll send you the score.”

He gave her one last smile before setting off to follow Oikawa. He found him just as Tooru was about to go home, and grabbed him by the arm on the alley that led to his front door. Oikawa kept his head down, and refused to look at him.

“Let me go, Iwa-chan.”

“Oikawa, listen...”

“Do you know what you are doing? You are cheating on me. Right in front of me.”

Iwaizumi's grip on his arm tightened, and he forced him to meet his gaze:

“Stop your bullshit. You know very well that I couldn’t cheat on you. But your fits of jealousy over Katsuko...”

“My fits of jealousy?” Oikawa exclaimed, looking up with glassy eyes. “Because I have no reason to be jealous? She's your soulmate! You complement each other perfectly, you are unable to stay away from each other! When she's there, you become… you're all… in love… And me, do I have to watch this? Tell me, are you sure you still have feelings for me, or has she already taken them all?”

“Oikawa, you know you will always be someone special to me-“

“No,” Oikawa interrupted.

Tears were flowing freely now, rolling down his cheeks, falling on his shirt.

“Don't give me such classic break words,” he hiccupped. “I do not want them. I'm supposed to be your boyfriend! Your lover! That's the word, so say it!”

“You will always be someone special to me,” Iwaizumi said calmly, “but you are not my soulmate.”

If he hadn't held him by the arm, Oikawa would have fallen to his knees.

“You're not my soulmate either,” he whispered in a choked voice. “But I promised we would be together until the end, no matter who we were bound to. You remember it?”

“I remember it.”

“It doesn't mean anything to you anymore?”

“Of course it does!”

Iwaizumi's eyes were wet, too, but Oikawa couldn't understand them.

“I love you,” Iwaizumi said. “But a soulmate is… it's something else. I would like you to understand...”

“I understand perfectly, thank you!” Oikawa cried, freeing his arm. “I have one too, I'll let you know! And I pushed him away on purpose to be with you, so do the same for me!”

“It's not that easy!” Iwaizumi retorted. “You didn't mind rejecting him, you hated Kageyama anyway! But Katsuko...”

Oikawa saw red. He pushed Iwaizumi towards the street, clenching his teeth behind his tears:

“He's my soulmate anyway! Everything you feel about your Katsuko, I feel it as much from him! But I disregarded it and…”

“Maybe you shouldn't have,” Iwaizumi finally blurted out. “Maybe you should go back to him. It's just natural, after all. We are made for that.”

Oikawa slammed the door in his face.


	11. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Adlers boys, please

When Oikawa came back from the living room to sit around the kitchen table, the only available seat was the one next to Romero. The Brazilian player gave him a cordial smile as he pulled up the chair, and if Tooru tried to answer him in the same way, his seemed more like he had just bit into a lemon. He would have preferred that the champion ignored him, or showed contempt for the one who had broken his boyfriend’s heart; at least that would have given Oikawa a reason to repay him his disdain.

_Maybe that's why Tobio is dating him. Because he is kind and mature, and he doesn't hate me even though I have a special bond with his boyfriend._

_…Unlike me._

He ignored the thought, still tired from his recent explorations. Miwa, in front of him, had withdrawn into herself and stared blankly at a corner of the table, her arms crossed and her gaze dark; the police continued to make their own way through the investigation.

“The kidnappers had to be at least two,” one of the policemen said, “to manage to control him and transport him out of the apartment. But without CCTV footage, there's no way to be sure. I am going to go there to see if there is this kind of equipment in the building, and if possible, to recover the images; otherwise, those of the neighboring streets.”

“Go back to the police station for reinforcements,” his colleague advised. “And tell them not to alert the media now. Call me as soon as you have something.”

He gathered his things and nodded in greeting, promising he would come back with information in a few hours. Oikawa considered the idea to move and take the now empty chair, but felt too tired to stand up again.

“Do you know if he had any enemies? People who could resent him?” the other policeman asked after the departure of his colleague.

“I don't think so,” Ushijima replied. “We have rivals, but it's still fair-play. Although it is certain that it will be difficult for us to stay ahead of the championship without our regular setter.”

Romero seemed to understand volleyball terms, as he immediately replied:

_“Not everything is about volleyball, Wakatoshi.”_

“Miya Atsumu didn't seem to like him. Evicting Kageyama would guarantee him a place in the national team.”

Oikawa began to cough conspicuously, indicating that he too was planning to make it to the national team; then he recovered, out of decency. Even though he couldn't stand Miya Atsumu for multiple reasons, he didn't think that the Jackals setter would go that far. And he expected to earn his place in the national team in a fair fight.

“It may be a lead,” the policeman said. “Kageyama-san is a well-known person even outside of sports. He made several appearances on TV and in magazines; he even played in ads ... It is no coincidence that he was the one attacked.”

He jotted down a few sentences in his notebook, and continued professionally:

“We still don't have a ransom demand, though. This is what we would have to wait, in this kind of case, but it has already been over nine hours. What is strange is that they struck precisely when Kageyama-san was alone… Ushijima-san, who knew you were absent that night?”

“Hm… My team,” Ushijima replied slowly. “Those who took part in the trip, and the relatives of the players, I think. But Kageyama was supposed to go too. He hurt himself just the day before.”

“Could you make a list of all those who knew this?”

He gave him a paper sheet and a pen, and Ushijima set to work without a word. A heavy silence began to weigh over the room, only broken by the scratches on the paper. Miwa was on her phone; she eventually got up and walked out of the kitchen, bringing it to her ear, and Oikawa understood pretty quickly that she had her parents on the phone. He noticed as he turned his head that his shoulder height was below Romero's, and pouted.

“It will soon be noon,” Hayashi said suddenly. “I can go get sandwiches for everyone, if you don't mind us eating here, Oikawa-san. Anyway, we will only try to establish contact after eating. You are guaranteed to faint if you don't regain your strength beforehand.”

“Yeah. Why not, then.”

“I'm coming with you,” the remaining policeman declared.

Hayashi nodded; they both put on their coats and went out. Miwa was still on the phone, and Oikawa could hear the tremolos in her voice. He was alone at the table with the two Adlers players, and was thinking about secluding himself in his room when Romero, next to him, suddenly seemed to be restless; he took a smartphone out of his pocket, and Tooru thought it was his at first before he said:

“ _Tobio's phone_. _I took it when I arrived at his place, he left it on his bed. Maybe there's info in there?”_

 _He should have pulled it out when the police was still there,_ Oikawa thought. He doubted he could find the reason for the kidnapping in Tobio's data, but after all, why not.

 _“Can I see it?”_ he asked, holding out his hand, his palm open.

The Brazilian mustn't know how to read Japanese characters anyway, he thought. Romero gave it to him, and for a moment Oikawa found himself moved to have in his hand an object so close to Tobio –or was it again the bond of soulmates that manifested itself, which warned him that what he was touching was related to Kageyama? He turned on the phone, but a security code appeared. _I wouldn't have believed Tobio-chan so careful._

“ _Oh, excuse me...”_

Romero picked up the phone, expertly dialed the code, and returned it to Oikawa with a smile. Tooru mumbled a _thanks_ , but was burning from the inside. _He's laughing at my face. He just wants to show me that he knows him by heart, that Tobio trusted him and-_

He forced himself to calm down. Nicolas absolutely had the right to know the code. He had earned Tobio's trust while Oikawa was thousands of miles away flirting on Tinder. It was in the order of things, after all.

He started by opening the threads, trying to see if Tobio had received any suspicious messages or had an anonymous correspondent. He pursed his lips when he saw _Nico_ at the head of the line, then the rest of his entourage: Ushijima, Miwa, Hinata, Hoshiumi, Sugawara, other players of his team and acquaintances which remained largely from high school volleyball. Nothing weird in all of this.

Oikawa repeated the operation on his various social networks, without really finding any interesting lead; just fan messages and a few notifications. Without much conviction, he opened the photo gallery to browse it quickly, more out of curiosity than in the hope of finding a clue. Some screens, some basic photos including many selfies with Hinata (or taken by Hinata alone when he wasn’t looking); nothing convincing. Oikawa had gone back three months, and was about to return the phone when a photo called out to him. In fact, it had no connection with the investigation; it was Tobio, alone, but Oikawa couldn't take his eyes off it, and decided to enlarge it.

Undeniably, it was a beautiful photo. It was Kageyama, just leaning on what must have been a balcony; but the wrought iron motifs and the flowers which decorated it immediately gave a certain charm to the decor. He was dressed simply –black jeans, a dark blue sweater, a white collar- but Oikawa couldn't help but stare, he who usually only saw Tobio in his sports gear. It was almost more intimate to see him dressed like that than in match shorts, and he had the feeling that something was stirring in his stomach.

As for his face… It had been a long time since Oikawa had had the opportunity to see him so closely. He had matured since high school, and had pulled away from the withdrawn teenage figure into that of a handsome young man, clearing his face rather than letting his hair cover his forehead, and sporting a slight smile instead of a bored pout. It was true that Tobio smiled more since he was with the Adlers –since he was with Romero. That didn't stop Oikawa from liking that expression on him, and the rest, in particular his now well-emphasized eyes.

_“He's cute, isn't he?”_

Oikawa almost dropped the phone. Romero was leaning over his shoulder.

 _“O-Of course he is_ ,” Oikawa stammered, shoving the phone back in his hands. “ _He's my kouhai, after all!”_

 _What an idiot, what a idiot I am!_ he cursed himself. Luckily, his quick answer pretty much made up for it –luckily he had said _kouhai_ rather than _soulmate_ , otherwise he could have definitely buried himself. But that didn't prevent him from feeling absolutely ridiculous -caught by his soulmate's boyfriend thinking that, in the end, he might have missed something. Romero looked more amused than anything else, but Oikawa didn't get fooled: his smile didn't reach his eyes.

“ _I took this one_ ,” he said, putting the phone down on the table. “ _He wanted a new pic for his Instagram_.”

Oikawa nodded. He had just noticed that Tobio was on Insta, but had naively considered that he had people to take care of it for him, like famous people –not that he had developed any semblance of communicational intelligence and didn't mind a little photo shoot from time to time. _He's my kouhai, after all_ , Oikawa _repeated_ to himself with a wry half-smile.

Unwilling to feel that Romero was probably making fun of him deep down, Tooru decided to return to the living room and wait for the others to return with the sandwiches; he turned on the television to have some background noise, hoping it would ease a little the unbearable tension that hung over the apartment, then sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs, trying to take a step back from it all.

He vaguely heard that Miwa had hung up and had returned to the kitchen, and was just paying attention to the news channel when the couch suddenly sagged beside him, and as he turned his head he saw that Ushijima had just sat down there. Oikawa decided to ignore him, but it was without counting on the champion who obviously wanted to talk to him:

“Oikawa. Thank you for what you do for Kageyama.”

“It's normal,” Oikawa muttered. “He would have done the same for me.”

“Yes,” Ushijima confirmed without letting go of his gaze. “He would have done it without hesitation.”

Tooru sank into the back of the sofa a bit. He didn't want to talk to Ushijima, but he too must have evolved –less visibly than Tobio, but still. He was his roommate, he had to know things about Kageyama.

“I upset you when I said I believed that Romero was Kageyama's soulmate.”

It was brutal, assertive and true, like everything Ushijima said in general. He was right on target, just observing an obvious situation without feeling the need to apologize –it wasn't his fault anyway.

“A bit,” Oikawa admitted. “But hardly anyone knew about our bond.”

“Yes. I thought your soulmate was Iwaizumi.”

Oikawa had to process this. Ushijima's honesty had its good sides, but in this case, it had more of a knack for getting on his nerves since their first meeting ... And that last sentence was possibly the one that hurt him the most of everything the champion had ever told him. Tooru tried not to seem overwhelmed, however, kept his usual expression and answered without looking at him:

“Yeah. We were dating, but we weren't bound.”

Then, eager to keep the subject away from Iwaizumi and out of a somewhat petty spirit of revenge, he asked:

“And what about you, Ushiwaka? You live with Tobio. Where is your soulmate?”

“In Serbia.”

“He?”

“In Serbia,” Ushijima repeated without blinking. “She went to a renowned foreign league in volleyball. That's what you did with Argentina, right?”

Oikawa blinked slowly. He had expected the answer to be everything except that.

“We said to ourselves that we put our careers first,” he continued without seeming particularly affected. “The bond is not rejected, just… waiting. We'll meet again later. And then, we run into each other from time to time at the world championships.”

“Easy,” Oikawa said ironically. “You have the same career and you are on the same wavelength. There are some who are lucky.”

“It's no different from Kageyama and you,” Ushijima pointed out.

_Thanks, Ushiwaka. Always there to support me._

“Tobio has a boyfriend,” Tooru replied with his best smile. “I don't want to get involved in this. I managed to forget him until today, he did the same, and everything was fine-“

It was a lie, but it was all he had in stock. Obviously, Ushijima didn't let him get away so easily. He fixed his eyes on Oikawa's, disarmingly serious and frank, and blurted out:

“He never forgot you, Oikawa.”

Tooru's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but let a look of surprise on his face before he regained his composure. He returned his eyes to the news channel, pretending not to have heard, but Wakatoshi didn't let go:

“He watched all your games. I caught him several times watching lives in the living room. I recognized the San Juan uniform, but he always denied it. Then he started watching them in his room.”

Oikawa did not know what word to use to describe what he was feeling, a mixture of sadness, tenderness and happiness – _melancholy,_ maybe. How could Ushijima know that Tooru had done the exact same thing on his side, watching the Adlers games with passion without ever wanting to acknowledge it, out of pure pride, keeping those moments as guilty pleasures? Tobio and he were the same… And their bond was not for nothing in this. The thought warmed his heart, but remained tinged with bitterness.

So, deciding to play it all in, Oikawa gave Ushijima a glance and asked half-heartedly:

“How is he, Tobio, in everyday life? What does he do other than play volleyball?”

Afterwards, he felt a little guilty for asking about Kageyama rather than taking news from Ushijima first; but the latter didn't hold it against him, and seemed to think about it for a moment.

“Several times a month, we go out with the team to strengthen cohesion, either in bars or in daytime activities. We also receive teammates from time to time. Romero, and then others –Hoshiumi, often, as we know each other from before, and Hirugami, sometimes with his brother. And sometimes high school friends come to see us, Hinata or Goshiki when they are around. When we are alone at the apartment, hm… in general, he takes care of the shopping because he easily remembers the list. We have a game console, but it's mostly when the friends are there, even if he practices it at night so that he can beat them next time. He has some manga in his room, I think, and draws from time to time. And he likes to drive around.”

 _Friends, video games, manga, drawing_. And the driver's license, which Oikawa had never considered coming from Kageyama. Tobio was, after all and volleyball aside, a normal boy. What else to expect? As if Oikawa had considered that, because of his natural talent and his difficulties in communicating, he necessarily had a way of life the opposite of his own. He suspected that was not the case, but the confirmation by the roommate left him with no doubt. Kageyama was by no means some kind of autistic genius half-isolated from the world –mastering social media and his image, having hobbies and friends. Oikawa wished he could have continued to imagine it that way; at least he could have told himself that it wouldn't have been possible between them because of that.

“And…,” he said half-consciously, “do you think that he had feelings-“

At the same time, there was a loud noise in the entryway and he jumped, getting up hurriedly to see who had just kicked down his door.

Unsurprisingly, it was Hinata Shouyou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters get longer, English mistakes probbaly increase at the same time, but thanks for reading and leaving kudos!! ♥


	12. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, with the company of our beloved time skip Hinata !

Hinata was upset. Not in the same way as Miwa, and Oikawa was grateful to him for it, but he was upset anyway.

He was going in circles, round and round in the kitchen back and forth. He hadn't quite lost his Brazilian tan, Oikawa thought as he watched him pace. His hair was shorter, and he had gained in charisma and maturity –but deep down, Tooru still imagined him as the little shrimp that was always screaming on the court.

“I don’t understand,” Hinata exclaimed for the fifth time. “Who would want to kidnap Kageyama? This guy is so obnoxious, they're gonna give him back before tonight, right!?”

“I would like to,” Oikawa sighed.

He had rested his chin in the palm of his hand, waiting like the others for the sandwiches to arrive. Hayashi and the policeman were due home soon –and the sooner the better, Oikawa could try to make contact again after eating. The idea made him a little worried, given his last experience; but he knew it was his duty, and he had the hope that little by little he would gain useful elements.

“Hinata, sit down,” Miwa said finally. “You make me nauseous turning around like this.”

Once Shouyou was seated, Tooru could see with more clarity the concern that was painted on his face. The two had grown closer when they crossed paths in Brazil, naturally, as two expatriates would do; but in the moment, Oikawa didn't know what to say. This was not the case with Hinata, obviously, who addressed him directly:

“Sorry for revealing that you were his soulmate. I guess you wanted to keep it a secret, but… Let's say the circumstances were exceptional. Kageyama's safety comes first.”

“You did well,” Oikawa replied slowly. “It was… I mean, we never agreed to shut it up. It wasn't top confidential, I guess we just avoided talking about it on our own.”

He nodded in a condescending way towards Romero and added:

“Even _he_ didn't know.”

“I know,” Hinata replied, “that's why they called me.”

With that, he turned to Nicolas and proceeded to speak to him in Portuguese, leaving Oikawa there –perhaps to compensate for the somewhat harsh treatment Tooru was giving him, by the way.

“ _Então, o que é que achas?”_

_“Não é nada como eu imaginava. Creio que ele não gosta de mim.”_

_“Não surprises me. Ele està em negação.”_

_“Vejo isso. É divertido.”_

Oikawa exchanged a confused look with Ushijima and Miwa as the two Portuguese speakers chatted, having absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Probably Tobio. He coughed loudly to remind himself to them, unhappy at feeling left out.

“By the way,” he said, trying to bring the conversation back to a language he mastered, “when did Tobio tell you that I was his soulmate? You're the only one he told about it, apparently it had to be something.”

Hinata shrugged, but blushed a little, probably flattered to be the only one to benefit from Kageyama's absolute trust.

“Hm... Actually, it's still quite recent. It was just when I came back from Brazil last year. We had a big party with everyone to celebrate my return, and Kageyama arrived with Nico. I knew they were dating, but this was the first time I met him, I was all… waah. And then, late in the night, I was with Kageyama in a corner talking… We were both pretty drunk… And then I told him that now that I was going to stay in Japan, Kenma and I would surely move in together and get married. And the conversation was oriented around soulmates. I suspected that Nico was not his –it is rare that they appear so far from each other and with almost ten years apart. I told him that in Karasuno, I had noticed that he sometimes had moods that did not suit the situation… At the end of our first year, he was sad all the time while everything was fine. Even though we hadn't won the Nationals, I suspected it was deeper than that. I did not dare tell him at the time, I was waiting for him to come to me ... And he took his time, this bastard made me wait five years before telling me.”

 _At the end of our first year, he was sad all the time_. Oikawa looked down, aware that it matched the time he had broken up with Iwaizumi. Tobio must have deduced it, suspected it… and had he hoped for a brief moment that Tooru could come back to him, give them a chance, before learning that he had flown to Argentina?

There was a moment of silence where everyone processed the information, then Miwa leaned forward, giving Oikawa a brief glance:

“Really? Because he didn't say anything to us. Do you mind sharing? Until this morning, I believed that my brother did not have a soulmate at all.”

“I thought it was Romero,” Ushijima muttered.

 _“I only knew he had a soulmate who rejected him_ ,” Romero added _. “He didn't tell me much about him, except that it was a guy with a terrible personality.”_

“Hey!” Oikawa cried, “that’s slander! I'm not… I mean, I hurt him, I know that. I regret it. But we hardly had any interaction as soulmates, so, Shouyou… Would you mind developing?”

Solicited from all sides, Hinata did not know what to answer; he scratched the back of his neck with uneasiness.

“There is not much to say… He realized that it was you during our first training match against Aoba. I think it was when you told the coach that you had sprained your ankle a few days earlier –his had been hurting there for no reason at the same time. This is where he understood. And then, I think being this close to each other confirmed what he was thinking. Apparently he told you straight away, but that's when you… hm… rejected him?”

_I don't want a soul mate. I don’t want you._

“Yeah,” Oikawa breathed with resignation. “There was no point in giving him hope for something that couldn't happen. It was better for him to get it straight and take a few days to get over it, rather than letting him chase disillusionment and waste years with it. And if he could find a boyfriend, so much the better.”

The _better_ sounded particularly bad, and he glanced at Romero. Probably he would have been relieved if he had found out in his last year of high school that Kageyama was dating someone else; even if he probably would have denounced corruption of a minor back then, he thought, wrinkling his nose. At least, seeing Tobio happy with another would have eased his guilt.

Despite their connection, the two always seemed to find the wrong timing to be in a relationship or leave, alternately unable to be together because of the relationship between Iwaizumi and Oikawa, then by the latter’s career in Argentina ; and, when he returned, it was Tobio's turn to be in a relationship… And he would leave the following year for a foreign league, too, probably in the United States or in Europe. Fate had brought them together, and yet they seemed to spend their time running away from each other, like magnets, endlessly subjected to opposite poles –drawn to each other, but unable to cross the magnetic field that separated them.

Hayashi and the policeman returned at this moment, cutting off the discussion. Hinata introduced himself quickly, and there was not long before they unwrapped the sandwiches and ate; but even then the Jackals player couldn't help but talk.

“Oikawa, what happened with the first contacts?”

His dark eyes were extremely serious, and Oikawa swallowed before answering:

“We made two attempts. The first was essentially to re-establish the bond. It's not that obvious, every… step that I take towards him is a step that he must take towards me, on his side. But it's fully activated now. The second was deeper, more chaotic too, but I was able to get something out of it. Maybe the next one will be decisive.”

“That's right,” Hayashi said. “The results are promising.”

“If they are not enough, I can always call Miya to come and motivate you,” Hinata said while chewing.

“No thank you.”

The very idea was enough to disgust Oikawa, who put down his half-eaten sandwich. Either way, it wasn't like he was very hungry, given the situation he was in.

They went back to work as soon as the wrappers were thrown away; the policeman started talking with Hinata to try to find out more about Tobio, while Oikawa and Hayashi returned to the living room.

“You know what you have to do,” the specialist smiled. “Let the bond speak for itself. Take all the info you need, but don't be too greedy, you're not used to it yet.”

Oikawa settled comfortably in his armchair. He couldn't deny that he was worried –Tobio had been held somewhere for over ten hours, and the only way to find him was through that sort of grueling contact; and Tooru didn't even really know what to think of his soulmate anymore, who reappeared in his life with more presence than ever. He pushed those uncertain thoughts away and focused on something he was sure of: the presence of their tangible bond that he knew how to use.

He closed his eyes, and once again let himself be carried away.

Little by little, he let his whole being concentrate on the anchoring of the bond, on this feeling nestled in the middle of his chest, right next to the heart. All his thoughts, all his system were to tend only towards this point; it had to become his center of gravity.

When he felt ready, he let himself be overwhelmed.

Tobio was there, very close, he could feel it –like the gaze of a person on your nape, or the breath of someone brushing your skin, a subtle but solid intuition. This presence had been evident since Oikawa had identified who was at the other end of this bond –but he did not reject it. Now he wouldn't reject him anymore.

The usual feelings came back in force –the panic had subsided, giving way to dull worry and forced resignation. The pain in his wrists was sharper than during the previous attempt –Oikawa felt that the itchiness had turned to burning, and spikes of pain were rising all the way up his arms. Hunger was added to the number of inconveniences, also, a feeling of lack of energy, discomfort and fatigue...

But that was not enough. Oikawa wanted more, he wanted something concrete. And, gritting his teeth, he concentrated more, dived deeper, farther than on the second attempt, searching for something else, as if to give clarity to still blurred visions.

The reaction was immediate and unsettling. As if he felt an echo, as if he was both the one doing the action and the one undergoing it, he felt his mind bare, vulnerable –and suddenly the sensations grew blurry and indistinct, while they had been acquired to him the instant before. Oikawa almost broke his concentration –he heard Hayashi's voice, but refused to return, forced himself to persevere, relinquishing everything to the bond in proof of good faith.

 _Tobio, trust me_.

These words appeared naturally, half wanted, half buried in him, and echoed with all their power through his being. He knew that there was no relationship of trust between him and Kageyama, not after everything that had happened –but it wasn't his underclassman he was addressing, not his rival, not his nemesis; it was his soulmate.

He waited a second, a second of suspense, a second of anguish. It wasn't the anxiety he had known since that very morning; it was the innate fear that the connection he was trying to establish would be permanently rejected, that their bond would fail. It was all in Kageyama's hands, the choice of whether or not to agree to let Oikawa free in his mind –and it took him a second to decide.

He accepted.

Oikawa instantly understood what Hayashi meant by "finding the right frequency." What were then only still vague impressions, more or less identifiable, suddenly became absolutely clear. He could not see anything, the scarf covering his eyes was too tight –he could hear sounds, but distant and muffled, and nothing identifiable. He was seated against a cold wall, felt the bare skin of his arms pressed against what must be stone. His wrists were open, he was sure of it now, his fingers numb and bloody from struggling –they were tied with what must have been rope, at the itchy sensation. His ankles were also shackled, but the rope was looser, even though he couldn't untie it. The gag left him with a nasty taste in his mouth, the fabric cutting into the corners of his lips. He was frozen, his skin bristling with goosebumps, and breathing poorly –the air was laden with particles of dust, and something heavy, cold, and unsanitary –humidity.

All of this, Oikawa was instantly aware of it, felt everything on his own body and, for the first time, to the same extent as the one from who were coming these feelings. The connection was complete. The success almost intoxicated him, but he forced himself to keep a cool head through the bon; nothing was resolved yet. He soaked up everything he felt, all the little things that made sense; but what he felt above all was Tobio, so close at this moment, closer than he had ever been, closer than they could ever be physically, fused for the first time, a type of fullness he had never known before...

_Where are you, Tobio-chan?_

“Oikawa!”

A stinging pain brought him back to his body and he opened his eyes. It took a while for his vision to adjust, but he finally recognized several faces leaning over him: Hayashi in the foreground, Hinata's red hair just behind, and a total of six pairs of eyes fixed on him. A little late, he realized that he was lying on the ground.

“Sorry,” Hayashi said. “I had to slap you to get you back. Can you get up?”

Oikawa was still half dizzy but complied, pulling himself up into a sitting position, leaning on his shaking arms, realizing how much this new contact had weakened him. Hayashi reached out to help him up to his feet, and he staggered for a moment before sinking back into the armchair and catching his breath.

“Are you okay ?” Hinata asked.

His eyes were wide, and Oikawa wondered what had happened. He had fallen, but after? When he was in the bond, he no longer felt anything that was related to his bodily envelope. He was no longer in his apartment… The previous minutes, he was by Tobio's side, wherever he was. He could have convulsed or even spoken without realizing it... Which would explain the frozen expression of the other spectators.

“Yeah,” he finally articulated.

He was soaked in sweat and freezing to the bone. Miwa saw that he was shivering, for she disappeared to return a few seconds later with one of his coats, which she must have seen hanging in the hallway. He gratefully grabbed it.

“What happened, Oikawa-san?” Hayashi asked, sitting down to be at his height. “You didn't want to come back. Yet I warned you.”

“I was… I was so close,” Oikawa said huskily. “We… communicated, sort of. He felt that I was trying to exploit the bond, suddenly I lost everything, and then I… talked to him? Through the bond, like earlier, he must have heard me –and this time everything was clear, I felt everything, as if I was in his head.”

The policeman was ready to write everything down in his notebook, the pen already on the paper, waiting only for interesting information. Oikawa took a breath to remember everything, but he could still smell it, the impressions trailing over him like perfume on a garment.

“He’s in a cold, humid place, I would say maybe a garage, a cellar, a garden shed, that sort of thing. It's not great, it's February and he's in a T-shirt, he must have spent the end of the night there, we better find him before tonight, especially since he hasn't eaten anything since his kidnapping. He is blindfolded, wrists and ankles shackled; impossible for him to run away. I heard noises, but nothing really concrete –that said, the kidnappers must not be far. He tried to break free, but the shackles held, I think he stays quiet for now and… waits for us.”

“Very good,” the policeman said once the report was made. “If we find the kidnappers, we will find him at the same time, it is rather good news. But as you say, the clock is ticking. I will call my colleague to find out if he is moving forward on his side.”

Oikawa did not wait for those close to Tobio to leave before starting the discussion with Hayashi, still disturbed by what had happened:

“He answered me. It's the first time. I sent a message, and he responded.”

“It's excellent, Oikawa-san,” Hayashi smiled. “You’re doing a great job… but it also exhausts you. The more you go to him, the more you lose yourself. Be careful.”

“But it was…”

He searched for his words. How to describe what he had felt?

“It was exhilarating,” Hayashi answered for him. “Harmonious. Full. It was the bond of soulmates, Oikawa-san, quite simply, in his most powerful and beautiful aspect. This kind of contact is not given to everyone, even to traditional couples, know this.”

“Can it go further?” Oikawa asked, his throat tight.

“It would be difficult. You have reached a very advanced stage. Surprisingly advanced, taking into account the at least… compromised relationship you had with Kageyama-san.”

Hinata snorted, and when they turned to him he was wearing a half-mocking smile:

“Compromised, Hayashi-san? Is that what he told you? I have never seen someone obsessed with another person like Kageyama by Oikawa.”

He put his hands on his hair to flatten it and display an angry expression:

“Oikawa-san is an excellent player. I learned how to serve just by watching him. I'm going to beat Oikawa-san to be the best setter. I think I'll go to Aoba tonight. The only player that scares me is Oikawa-san.”

Oikawa almost felt himself blush, until Ushijima brought back his two cents:

“This is true. You too, Oikawa. When he beat you at Interhigh, you said you were counting on him to beat me. You were proud of him, you even complimented him.”

“I- shut up, Ushiwaka!” Oikawa exclaimed.

Miwa was looking at him intently, her blue eyes filled with interest and now devoid of reproach. Beside her, Romero had followed the scene without a word, but Oikawa could not have said if he could have understood everything. Probably some things, seeing the Hinata’s imitation of Tobio, and Tooru suddenly felt bad for him.

“I understand better,” Hayashi joked, giving him a knowing look. “And that also explains why the bond did not dissipate within the time limit. It was maintained on both sides… more or less consciously.”

Oikawa turned away. The implication was very clear. A bond that did not come undone… It was that it had not been completely rejected; and that when a part of him had said _I don't want you_ , another, deep inside him, a part that he maybe didn't even know –or that he didn't want to accept- whispered _I want you to stay_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be 8.5, the last flash-back making the link to the current situation !  
> Thank you all for your kudos and comments! They are highly appreciated, read and re-read with love.


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